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Deputy Minister Nguyen Huy Dung has asked network operators to quickly develop a detailed plan for stopping old mobile technology on a monthly basis, in each province and city. Photo: VT

Network operators must strictly follow the roadmap to turn off 2G waves.

On May 30, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Huy Dung chaired a meeting with mobile service providers. At the meeting, the Deputy Minister said that the Ministry of Information and Communications has issued circulars on the 900/1800MHz frequency band planning, creating a legal basis for the implementation of the roadmap to stop 2G technology. He requested that telecommunications enterprises strictly implement this, and relevant units under the Ministry, according to their functions and tasks, monitor and promote solutions to promote the shutdown of 2G waves and popularize smartphones.

“Based on the 900/1800MHz frequency band planning, the Ministry of Information and Communications will not re-license the 900/1800/2100MHz bands if businesses still have 2G only subscribers on September 16, 2024,” the Deputy Minister affirmed.

At the meeting, Deputy Minister Nguyen Huy Dung requested network operators to quickly develop a detailed plan for the roadmap to stop old mobile technology on a monthly basis, for each province and city. Develop technical and operational solutions to stop serving 2G only subscribers by September 2024, to ensure the implementation of the 900/1800MHz frequency band planning.

To ensure the rights of users, the Deputy Minister also noted that network operators must have solutions to support subscribers in switching to using higher-tech phones, and encourage support for smartphones to achieve the goal of popularizing this phone line. In addition, network operators must develop a detailed plan to deploy 4G coverage to replace 2G coverage, with an assessment of the coverage of each 2G base station to ensure 4G network coverage to replace 2G network, when the system is discontinued in September 2026.

Network operators must develop communication solutions for each user group according to age and geographical characteristics of each province or city, paying attention to remote areas, border areas, islands, users such as the elderly, ethnic minorities, seafarers... to grasp the policy and plan to stop 2G technology and make the transition to using smartphones.

In addition, network operators must develop a plan to support customers through voice channels, stores, and websites; develop communication content and Q&A about stopping 2G technology.

Network operators commit to shutting down 2G waves on schedule

Speaking at the meeting, virtual mobile network operators affirmed that they will comply with the direction of the Ministry of Information and Communications on shutting down 2G waves. A representative of Dong Duong Telecom said that this network operator focuses on customers using data packages, so it does not have many 2G customers. Therefore, Dong Duong Telecom will seriously implement the shutdown of 2G waves and will have a transition policy for customers.

According to a representative of Vietnamobile, this network currently has about 100,000 2G subscribers and is planning to gradually turn off 2G waves by September 2024.

Gtel Mobile does not have 2G subscribers on the network, so it is not affected by the 2G shutdown schedule.

Speaking at the meeting, Mr. Thiem Cong Nguyen, Deputy General Director of MobiFone, said that in the past time, MobiFone has turned off 10,000 2G stations, accounting for about 40% of the network's stations. MobiFone will continue to turn off 2G waves, focusing on areas with few subscribers, and by the end of 2025, all 2G stations will be turned off.

Mr. Nguyen Nam Long, Deputy General Director of VNPT shared that VNPT has a policy of not allowing 2G devices to join new networks to prepare for the roadmap to turn off 2G waves. Mr. Nguyen Nam Long also emphasized that to successfully turn off 2G waves, communication to users is very important; For example, it is possible to strongly communicate the shutdown of 2G waves like the shutdown of analog television that the Ministry of Information and Communications has done.

As the network operator with the most 2G subscribers, Mr. Nguyen Trong Tinh, Deputy General Director of Viettel Telecom, said that in the past time, Viettel has turned off 2G coverage stations in places where less than 5% of customers are using it. In addition, Viettel has analyzed the behavior of customers using 2G phones such as the elderly, workers, traders, etc. to come up with appropriate policies, such as a 50% discount for customers buying terminals and 100% free 4G "brick" phones for poor households.